That's generally how it's worked for me in the past as well. But that doesn't seem to be happening this time. The new cable card has been in the Roamio since yesterday, and it still hasn't updated its firmware, so I'm stuck on 1401. I noticed that the CP screen also still says "Waiting for CP Auth". But the card is paired and my channels are working (on 4 tuners), so obviously it's not really waiting for authorization. But maybe whatever it's waiting for is preventing the firmware update?

This sucks. Now I'm going in the wrong direction.

Okay, I called Comcast and had them re-enter the cable card serial number and Host ID. It was still saying "Waiting for CP Auth" after about 10 minutes, so they told me to get the card replaced (again). But after I hung up, it magically switched to "CP Auth Received". Progress! But I'm still stuck on the old 1401 firmware. I called Comcast back after about an hour and asked them if there was any way to push the new firmware to my cable card. They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about and told me I'd have to call TiVo for that. Wonderful.

So, with all the issues in this and other forums with cable card provisioning and firmware, do any of the Cable providers allow customers to purchase and install their own cable cards? I have seen a number of them being sold on Ebay for like a couple of bucks.

This would also save on the monthly rental the the cable companies charge for them.

So, with all the issues in this and other forums with cable card provisioning and firmware, do any of the Cable providers allow customers to purchase and install their own cable cards? I have seen a number of them being sold on Ebay for like a couple of bucks.

This would also save on the monthly rental the the cable companies charge for them.

Interesting question. I think the chance of buying a CableCARD from a cable provider is about the same as buying a cable box (or DVR) from them. Probably close to zero... No sarcasm intended.

I have been getting a V58 error message with my outdated cable cards. I enabled 4 tuners and have not seen this error message since, but some channels randomly will not tune. I can switch tuners or change the channel a few times and it will usually work again. Is this related to the outdated cable card firmware? Or am I dealing with 2 different issues. I am getting pretty frustrated.

I just went through this today with the V58 error message setting up my Pro with Comcast. Spent an hour on the phone to get it resolved.

Regarding Cablevision / NDS cable cards: I have been following a thread on the Yahoo Cablevision group's message board that Cablevision's Head of Engineering participates in. He says they are pre-qualifying a FW update for the NDS CCs. I just bought a Roamio Pro and am waiting for 24 hours to pass for account activation. I will let everyone know my experience after I install tomorrow night.

My sixth stream dropped out again. After working for a day I tried switching to a new channel and the same problem occurred. I have switched to 5 tuners and rebooted. The fix I experienced was not permanent.

Not sure how Comcast works, but with Cox and SA/Cisco CCs, as soon as you insert the new CableCARD, within 15 minutes the latest Firmware automatically starts to download (the TiVo pops up the Black CC screen informing you of this) and takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

Sometimes a reboot of the TiVo is required to complete the CC FW install, after the CC menu has been displayed for over 30 minutes, otherwise the TiVo will just revert back to normal operation.

Same here with Comcast either during initial installation or overnight during field upgrades.

Okay, I called Comcast and had them re-enter the cable card serial number and Host ID. It was still saying "Waiting for CP Auth" after about 10 minutes, so they told me to get the card replaced (again). But after I hung up, it magically switched to "CP Auth Received". Progress! But I'm still stuck on the old 1401 firmware. I called Comcast back after about an hour and asked them if there was any way to push the new firmware to my cable card. They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about and told me I'd have to call TiVo for that. Wonderful.

I think I remember the old 1401 firmware. You're on a Cisco PKM801 card right and the firmware is dated 2009? If so you're gonna have to wait until Comcast pushes the S26 guide update to your area. When I swapped out my SA cards to Cisco cards, that was the "latest" firmware for the Cisco cards until the S26 guide was pushed out. Then both the SA and Cisco cards got the same PKEY1.5.2_F.p.3001 firmware.

We have information on our website discussing CableCARDs that don't support six tuners on Roamio

TiVoMargret, According to the FAQ, it says that if the user doesn't have a six tuner capable CableCARD or the CableCARD won't update it's firmware, to
"Contact your cable provider to get a new CableCARD that will support six tuners. " This doesn't take into account that some cable providers may not offer CableCARDs with firmware compatible with six tuners, so requesting another one would be futile since that one would have the same firmware version, plus the added hassle of having to pair it to the TiVo which ease of doing so is hit or miss. What TiVo needs to do is get the cable providers to update their firmware, otherwise it could be years until this is fixed. Comcast for example has been rolling the PKEY1.5.2_F.p.3001 firmware for awhile now and hasn't even made it to all the markets yet, so I can't imagine them sending out yet another firmware update any time soon, especially since the last time there was a firmware update pushed out was in 2009 or 2010. I mean the only reason why Comcast even updated their firmware this time around was because of a chronic "not authorized" message on channels that were indeed authorized, which had been going on for a few years, and is only because it was also affecting their set top boxes that use a CableCARD.

I just went through this today with the V58 error message setting up my Pro with Comcast. Spent an hour on the phone to get it resolved.

Are you still receiving the V58 error message? Once I limited my TiVo to four tuners I haven't gotten the V58 message, but I still have channel not authorized error messages. I am on my second cable card and I am still having this issue. How did you resolve it?

I think I remember the old 1401 firmware. You're on a Cisco PKM801 card right and the firmware is dated 2009? If so you're gonna have to wait until Comcast pushes the S26 guide update to your area. When I swapped out my SA cards to Cisco cards, that was the "latest" firmware for the Cisco cards until the S26 guide was pushed out. Then both the SA and Cisco cards got the same PKEY1.5.2_F.p.3001 firmware.

Yes, the new card is a PKM801 and the 1401 FW is from 2009. But Comcast already pushed out the 3001 firmware last year in my area. That's when my older PKM800 cards got it. If they've already pushed it out, shouldn't this PKM801 card automatically get updated as soon as it connects to the head end? Do you know if there's anyone I can call at Comcast that might have an idea what I'm talking about when I tell them I'd like to get my new Cable Card onto the latest FW that they have available?

Cablevision (Optimum) has the same issue. The Firmware on my card is 1.5.2 1601. Sixth tuner (number 5) cannot tune encrypted channels. I knocked my Roamio Pro down to five tuners.

I had Cablevision here to check out the signal as they had to install an attenuator a couple months ago when my cablemodem wouldn't stop rebooting every day. The technician rearranged where the attenuators were to fix things for both the cablemodem and the TiVo, but the TiVo still had the V58 issue on the fifth tuner. While we were troubleshooting I came across this thread and tried the tuner limiting fix. It worked. My fifth tuner is now stuck on a channel (as seen in CableCARD diagnostics) and is not changing when I rotate through channels on the other five.

In discussion with the technician, he said he spent three hours with someone who had a PC with six tuners and had the same experience - rebooting the PC would work, but then it would stop working on a channel change. Seems it is the card, not the devices. He's going to pass the info up the line, but if you have Cablevision I wouldn't hold my breath. Seems like we're stuck with five tuners for a while.

So if I just got my Premiere 3 weeks ago and they brought me out a new cable card I am guessing it's the latest they have. So when I get the Roamio do I just put the card in there and it recognizes it or do I still have to call my cable company which is TWC now to send a signal to it or pair it whatever they do or will it just go in an be recognized?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWhites

TiVoMargret, According to the FAQ, it says that if the user doesn't have a six tuner capable CableCARD or the CableCARD won't update it's firmware, to
"Contact your cable provider to get a new CableCARD that will support six tuners. " This doesn't take into account that some cable providers may not offer CableCARDs with firmware compatible with six tuners, so requesting another one would be futile since that one would have the same firmware version, plus the added hassle of having to pair it to the TiVo which ease of doing so is hit or miss. What TiVo needs to do is get the cable providers to update their firmware, otherwise it could be years until this is fixed. Comcast for example has been rolling the PKEY1.5.2_F.p.3001 firmware for awhile now and hasn't even made it to all the markets yet, so I can't imagine them sending out yet another firmware update any time soon, especially since the last time there was a firmware update pushed out was in 2009 or 2010. I mean the only reason why Comcast even updated their firmware this time around was because of a chronic "not authorized" message on channels that were indeed authorized, which had been going on for a few years, and is only because it was also affecting their set top boxes that use a CableCARD.

__________________
Rose

Just got our Roamio Plus today and am able to return our 3 1/2 week old 2TB Premiere. Still have my Series 3 with LT and not using my other 2 x series 3 trying to sell them. 10 Year Customer.

So if I just got my Premiere 3 weeks ago and they brought me out a new cable card I am guessing it's the latest they have. So when I get the Roamio do I just put the card in there and it recognizes it or do I still have to call my cable company which is TWC now to send a signal to it or pair it whatever they do or will it just go in an be recognized?

it's possible it could work plug and play, but most likely you will need to call your cable provider to give them the HOST ID, CC Serial #, etc. from the Pairing info screen.

Cablevision (Optimum) has the same issue. The Firmware on my card is 1.5.2 1601. Sixth tuner (number 5) cannot tune encrypted channels. I knocked my Roamio Pro down to five tuners.

I had Cablevision here to check out the signal as they had to install an attenuator a couple months ago when my cablemodem wouldn't stop rebooting every day. The technician rearranged where the attenuators were to fix things for both the cablemodem and the TiVo, but the TiVo still had the V58 issue on the fifth tuner. While we were troubleshooting I came across this thread and tried the tuner limiting fix. It worked. My fifth tuner is now stuck on a channel (as seen in CableCARD diagnostics) and is not changing when I rotate through channels on the other five.

In discussion with the technician, he said he spent three hours with someone who had a PC with six tuners and had the same experience - rebooting the PC would work, but then it would stop working on a channel change. Seems it is the card, not the devices. He's going to pass the info up the line, but if you have Cablevision I wouldn't hold my breath. Seems like we're stuck with five tuners for a while.

Hmm...I have Cablevision as well. When I first installed my card (transferred it from another tivo I had), I was not getting all the tuners. Constant "V" message. I pulled out the card and reinserted it (while the tivo was on), reran the setup guide, and rebooted the tivo. When it came back on...I got all the tuners working. Confirmed this by recording 6 different programs, including some on the premiums HBOs, Starz, etc., at the same time. I know they have different brands of cable cards, but mine has a white and purple sticker on it (not sure brand... at the office so I cant look).
If the different cards arent area specific (Im in Morris County), you may want to try and exchange yours for another brand.
My signal strength is very high, and I had to add an attenuator as well. When I was playing with the different strengths of attenuator, I did notice if I attached one that was too strong, I did loose some of the tuners.

Are you still receiving the V58 error message? Once I limited my TiVo to four tuners I haven't gotten the V58 message, but I still have channel not authorized error messages. I am on my second cable card and I am still having this issue. How did you resolve it?

Not now. I escalated to next level of support, took an hour on the phone to resolve it.

So I think I have this issue too on Cablevision's Raritan Valley system.

I picked up what seems to be a new Cisco PKM803 card with a date of 08/20/2012 on the sticker. The firmware it is running is pkey1.5.2_f.p.1401 which has a build date of april 20 2009.

After some initial issues getting the CC activated correctly, I was getting all 6 tuners to tune in different HBO channels okay. Now this morning I went to check again, and the 6th tuner (confirmed through diagnostics) is erroring out and cannot decode the encrypted channels but works fine on the clear qam (non encrypted) HD channels (cbs, abc...etc).

Yesterday when I was on the phone with Cablevision the guy said he couldn't push a firmware update and that he didn't know what their current version was.

So I think I have this issue too on Cablevision's Raritan Valley system.

I picked up what seems to be a new Cisco PKM803 card with a date of 08/20/2012 on the sticker. The firmware it is running is pkey1.5.2_f.p.1401 which has a build date of april 20 2009.

After some initial issues getting the CC activated correctly, I was getting all 6 tuners to tune in different HBO channels okay. Now this morning I went to check again, and the 6th tuner (confirmed through diagnostics) is erroring out and cannot decode the encrypted channels but works fine on the clear qam (non encrypted) HD channels (cbs, abc...etc).

Yesterday when I was on the phone with Cablevision the guy said he couldn't push a firmware update and that he didn't know what their current version was.

PKEY1.5.2.2801 is the required version for Cisco/SA cards to work with 6 tuners.

So, it looks like you need a firmware update.

Makes me sad because I'll be hooking up my Plus on the same CV/Raritan Valley system next week. I guess I could check the firmware on my existing TivoHD's CCs to see if either of them match the required revisions, but if they don't I'll be even more sad.

So if I just got my Premiere 3 weeks ago and they brought me out a new cable card I am guessing it's the latest they have. So when I get the Roamio do I just put the card in there and it recognizes it or do I still have to call my cable company which is TWC now to send a signal to it or pair it whatever they do or will it just go in an be recognized?

No and yes. CableCARDs sitting in the back of trucks or in the office or warehouse can sometimes have different firmware versions depending on how long they've been sitting around. When (for example) Comcast first receives CableCARDs from the manufacturer they update the cards to the firmware version and configuration that they have tested as compatible with their system. If it's been sitting around for a few years and newer firmware has been released during that time, that card's firmware would then be outdated. When either a tech comes in and installs the CableCARD or you pick it up at the office and install it yourself, the card, which is preconfigured by the provider, will scan the predestinated out of band image download frequency for a newer firmware version, and if one is discovered, proceeds an attempt to download and then flash (install) it.

When you get the Roamio, take the card out from the Premiere, make sure there is not any loose dust on or near the card or the connecting end of the card, and simply insert it into the Roamio. Power the device on and allow it to boot. You will then receive a CableCARD pairing screen. You will need to contact your cable provider, supply them with the Host ID, CableCARD ID, so they can send a pairing hit to the card. If there is a firmware update available for the card, you will receive a notification saying so. Depending on when the notice appears, it could be before or after the pairing screen. If before, you will need to wait until it's completed before proceeding with the pairing.

My sixth stream dropped out again. After working for a day I tried switching to a new channel and the same problem occurred. I have switched to 5 tuners and rebooted. The fix I experienced was not permanent.

Why are you having this issue? I was under the impression Comcast Houston had cablecards that can handle six streams.

So I think I have this issue too on Cablevision's Raritan Valley system.

I picked up what seems to be a new Cisco PKM803 card with a date of 08/20/2012 on the sticker. The firmware it is running is pkey1.5.2_f.p.1401 which has a build date of april 20 2009.

After some initial issues getting the CC activated correctly, I was getting all 6 tuners to tune in different HBO channels okay. Now this morning I went to check again, and the 6th tuner (confirmed through diagnostics) is erroring out and cannot decode the encrypted channels but works fine on the clear qam (non encrypted) HD channels (cbs, abc...etc).

Yesterday when I was on the phone with Cablevision the guy said he couldn't push a firmware update and that he didn't know what their current version was.

Hmm that's strange because the PKM803 card is supposed to only be used with Cisco leased hosts, and according Cisco Engineering when I spoke to them about a year ago, they said there intentionally isn't a way to pair it with customer owned equipment as the CableCARD ID is fused with the MAC address of the set top box to prevent the card from being mixed up with the PKM801 by installers. Here's what I mean from the PDF: "PKM803 may be provided by Cable Operator for use (by convention) in one- or two-way, multi- or single-stream leased Hosts" where the PKM801 which is rented to customers separately "PKM801 may be provided by Cable Operator for use (by convention) in one-way, multi- or single-stream retail Hosts" Maybe it's different with Cablevision.

Yes, the new card is a PKM801 and the 1401 FW is from 2009. But Comcast already pushed out the 3001 firmware last year in my area. That's when my older PKM800 cards got it. If they've already pushed it out, shouldn't this PKM801 card automatically get updated as soon as it connects to the head end? Do you know if there's anyone I can call at Comcast that might have an idea what I'm talking about when I tell them I'd like to get my new Cable Card onto the latest FW that they have available?

PKEY1.5.2.2801 is the required version for Cisco/SA cards to work with 6 tuners.

So, it looks like you need a firmware update.

Makes me sad because I'll be hooking up my Plus on the same CV/Raritan Valley system next week. I guess I could check the firmware on my existing TivoHD's CCs to see if either of them match the required revisions, but if they don't I'll be even more sad.

I'm not convinced that that Cisco firmware mentioned on TiVo's website is correct since customers with newer firmware is still having the problem.